Transformers: Way of the Warrior [Paperback]

"Way of the Warrior" is quite the curiosity. It's a Transformers comic, which is in and of itself a rather esoteric thing. That it's a compilation of stories which had, until now, only ever seen print in the United Kingdom makes it even more esoteric. On top of that, these stories have been out of print for decades. That, added to the UK-only distribution of these comics, had for a long time rendered them Extremely Rare. Yes, capital "E", capital "R". Oh, and they're all purely black-and-white, too. No color at all. So, to review: "Way of the Warrior" is a compilation of decades-old, British, black-and-white Transformers comics -- quite a curiosity indeed.

Happily, thanks to the modern resurgence of the Transformers' popularity, to the boom in trade paperback-format comic book reprints and manga (Japanese black-and-white comics), and to Titan's decision to reprint and repackage their old material, these stories are no longer capital-"E"-capital-"R"-Extremely-Rare. Now, anyone can get ahold of these stories easily, and they're now in an attractive, convenient package to boot. Life can be beautiful.

But can the stories themselves be beautiful? No, not really... They can be interesting, though. Fascinating, even. The stories in "Way of the Warrior" are written by Simon Furman, the British writer who has written arguably the majority of English-language Transformers comics, both in the UK and the USA. He's a good writer, actually -- much better than many comic book authors (such as those who tend to work on your garden-variety superhero tales). However, his take on the Transformers has always been rather wierd. His approach to the notorious Robots In Disguise stands far apart from that of his predecessor, Bob Budianski (who wrote the first-ever crop of Transformers comics and who, to a large extent, helped conceive the entire franchise) and equally far apart from the classic Transformers cartoons and/or anime.

Nowadays, Mr. Furman has become so integral to the Transformers mythos as a whole that his take on the Transformers and the nature of the franchise itself has drifted much closer together. However, back when "Way of the Warrior" was written, he was still doing his own thing. Eschewing the Transformers' essential nature (that being one big advertisement for the toys), he treated the characters less as toys or robots or aliens and more as people cast in a sprawling science-fantasy universe.

Without giving away any of the events of the story itself, "Way of the Warrior" is quintessential "Furmanist" Transformers fiction. I seriously doubt anyone who buys this book will be a stranger to the Transformers overall, nor to Transformers comics in general, nor to Simon Furman in particular. However, if you are, keep in mind that these comics are rather old and long predate the current trend of great art that Transformers are now associated with. The artwork is, at best, workmanlike. At worst, it's downright ugly. But don't let that stop you from reading these stories. Pick them up to enjoy a refreshingly wierd, creative alternative to the more traditional Transformers tales you're used to.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  3.0 out of 5 stars